9th Arkansas Infantry Regiment

9th Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)

Flag of the 9th Arkansas,
courtesy of the Museum of the Confederacy
Active July 20, 1861 – April 26, 1865
Country Confederate States of America
Allegiance CSA
Branch Infantry
Engagements

American Civil War

Disbanded April 26, 1865
Arkansas Confederate Infantry Regiments
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8th Arkansas Infantry Regiment 10th Arkansas Infantry Regiment

The 9th Arkansas Infantry (July 20, 1861 – April 26, 1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. It served throughout the war in the western theater, seeing action in the Vicksburg, Tennessee and Georgia campaigns. Following its depletion in numbers the regiment was consolidated several times with other Arkansas regiments, finally merging in 1865 into the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles.

Organization

9th Infantry Regiment was organized at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, July 20, 1861,[3] and was known as the "Parson's Regiment" because it contained forty-two ministers.[4] Its companies were recruited in the following counties:[5][6] The unit contained four companies (A, G, H, and I) which were originally organized as volunteer companies in the 24th Regiment, Arkansas State Militia.[7]

The field officers were Colonels John M. Bradley and Isaac L. Dunlop; Lieutenant Colonels W. Y. McCammon, R. W. Millsap, and Jefferson W. Rogers; and Majors John C. Bratton and William J. Wallace.[4]

The regiment was armed with weapons which the state confiscated when the Federal Arsenal at Little Rock was seized by Arkanssas State Militia troops in February 1861. Disposition of the weapons found in the Arsenal is somewhat sketchy, but from various records it can be surmised The 9th and 10th Arkansas, Kelly's 9th Arkansas Battalion, and the 3rd Arkansas Cavalry were issued flintlock Hall's Rifles from the Arsenal.[9]

Battles

The 9th Arkansas marched to Pocahontas, Arkansas, in July 1861 and later was initially assigned to Pillow's Division. Like all the other Arkansas regiments raised in the first wave of recruiting in 1861, they were taken into Confederate armies east of the Mississippi River, and only the few survivors made it back home after the war. The 9th was present, across the river at Columbus Kentucky during the Battle of Belmont, Missouri and was subsequently retained at Bowling Green, Kentucky, for the defense of that post during the winter of 1861-1862. The regiment was assigned to General Bowen's Brigade, consisting of the 9th and 10th Arkansas, 5th Missouri and 10th Mississippi Infantry Regiments before they were moved to Kentucky.[10] They remained at Bowling Green, Kentucky, until the evacuation of that place when they were placed to guard the rear on the retreat. After the losses of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in February 1862, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston withdrew his forces into western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and Alabama to reorganize. and then retreated through western Tennessee to Corinth, Mississippi. On March 29, 1862, the Army of Central Kentucky was merged into the Army of Mississippi in preparation for the Battle of Shiloh. Bowen's Brigade, including the 9th and 10th Arkansas Infantry Regiments, was then placed in General Brigadier General John C. Breckinridge's Reserve Corps as part of the Army of Mississippi. It fought gallantly at Shiloh, charging repeatedly upon the "Hornet's Nest" where it lost Lieutenant Colonel Dunlop. It was through this regiment that General Albert Sidney Johnston rode from the rear to the front, with a tin cup he had appropriated earlier that morning, saying "Men of Arkansas, the enemy is stubborn. I want you to show General Beauregard and General Bragg what you can do with your bayonets and toothpicks!" The regiment went forward with a cheer and passed him at a run; in five minutes 130 men of their ranks were killed or wounded, but they did not falter. Lieutenant Duckworth was killed at the head of his company, and Captain Wallace was wounded. It closed up and disappeared into the thicket in front, followed by the whole Confederate line, and the enemy was silenced in twenty minutes. General Johnston, however, received a mortal wound while leading this charge, and shortly thereafter bled to death. The unit reported 17 killed and 115 wounded at Shiloh.[4][11]

After the retreat from Shiloh, the 9th Arkansas returned to Corinth, Mississippi and participated in the Iuka-Corinth Campaign, in the battles of Corinth, and Iuka, Mississippi. They served at the Battle of Coffeeville, where the unit reported 16 casualties.[4] The unit was assigned under Generals Rust, Buford, and Beall in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana and in the Vicksburg Campaign in the spring and summer of 1863, where they served briefly in the garrisons of Port Hudson, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi, then fought in the Battle of Champion Hill on May 15, 1863. The 9th served in Brigadier General Abraham Buford's brigade of Major General William W. Loring's division of Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton's Confederate Army at Champion Hill, and following that battle, Loring retreated north to join General Joseph E. Johnston's army near Jackson rather than being trapped with the rest of Pemberton's army in the Vicksburg defenses. Johnston had been gathering troops at Jackson, intending to relieve pressure on Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton's beleaguered garrison. Johnston cautiously advanced his 30,000 soldiers toward the rear of Grant's army surrounding Vicksburg.[12] In response, Grant ordered Sherman to deal with Johnston's threat. By July 1, 1863, Johnston's force was in position along the Big Black River. Sherman used the newly arrived IX Corps to counter this threat. On July 5, the day after the surrender of Vicksburg was made official; Sherman was free to move against Johnston. Johnston hastily withdrew his force across the Big Black River and Champion's Hill battlefields with Sherman in pursuit. Sherman had with him the IX Corps, XV Corps, XIII Corps, and a detachment of the XVI Corps. On July 10 the Union Army had taken up position around Jackson. The heaviest fighting in the Siege of Jackson came on July 11 during an unsuccessful Union attack, which resulted in heavy casualties.[13] Instead of risking entrapment, Johnston chose to evacuate the state capital and withdrew on July 16. Sherman's forces occupied the city the following day.[12]

In the aftermath of the Vicksburg Campaign, most of Johnston's army was transferred to the Army of Tennessee, arriving just in time for the Battle of Chickamauga. The 9th Arkansas remained in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana and was eventually assigned to the mostly Alabama brigade of Brigadier General Abraham Buford, of Major General William J. Loring's Division of Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk's Army during the Meridian Campaign in February to March, 1864.[14]

After the Meridian Campaign, the unit was assigned to Brigadier General D. H. Reynold's Brigade in the Army of Tennessee, where it would remain for the rest of the war. The unit participated in the campaigns of that army from the Atlanta Campaign at Resaca, New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Dug Gap, Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Ezra Church, and the final siege of Atlanta, as well as follow-on action at Lovejoy's Station and Jonesboro, Georgia. After the fall of Atlanta, the regiment participated in the Tennessee campaign that resulted in the battles of Franklin, and Nashville, Tennessee.

They continued service with the Army of Tennessee to the close of the war, fighting at Sugar Creek on December 26, 1864, and in the Carolinas Campaign in February to April, 1865. The unit participated in the following battles:[15]

After the Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, the Arkansas regiments of Reynolds' Brigade marched via Bainbridge, Alabama, Tuscumbia, Iuka and Corinth to Tupelo, Mississippi, where they went into camp on January 10, 1865. They departed Tupelo on January 30 and marched to West Point, Mississippi. From West Point they traveled by rail to Selma, Alabama. From Selma they traveled by steamboat to Montgomery, then by rail to Columbus, Georgia. From Columbus they marched via Macon and Milledgeville to Mayfield, Georgia. From Mayfield they traveled by rail to Augusta, Georgia. From there they marched to Newberry, South Carolina. On March 19, 1865, they fought their last major engagement at the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. They then marched to Smithfield, North Carolina, where the entire brigade was consolidated into a single understrength regiment, the 1st Consolidated Mounted Rifles on April 9, 1865.[16]

Battle Flag

Flag of the 9th Arkansas, Museum of the Confederacy

The battle flag of the 9th Arkansas Infantry currently resides at the Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia. The flag is a 2nd National Flag Pattern battle flag of the 9th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. According to its history, it was preserved by Color Bearer Degan Foley and given to Reverend J.M. Lucey of Pine Bluff, who donated it to the Museum of the Confederacy, in 1896.

Flag of the 11th Arkansas which was once atrributed to the 9th Arkansas.

The Old State House Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas, also contains a battle flag which was traditionally attributed to the 9th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. A variation of the first national flag with twelve stars, nine describing a circle and three within it. More recent research now indicates that this flag most likely belonged to the 11th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and was found, along with the regiment's baggage in Fort Thompson after the unit evacuated Island No. 10. The flag was returned to Arkansas by the State of Michigan in 1941. The flag is a First Confederate National Flag pattern variation made of cotton and cotton damask, measuring 46" x 69" and it is currently in the collection of the Old State House Museum, Little Rock, Arkansas.[17]

Consolidation and surrender

On April 9, 1865, the depleted Arkansas regiments of D. H. Reynolds' Brigade, Walthall's Division, Confederate Army of Tennessee, were consolidated into a single regiment the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles, at Smithfield, North Carolina. The companies of the consolidated regiment were drawn from the following Arkansas regiments:[18]

Company A — 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles.
Company B — 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles.
Company C — 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles.
Company D — 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles.
Company E — 4th Arkansas Infantry.
Company F — 4th Arkansas Infantry.
Company G — 31st Arkansas Infantry.
Company H — 9th Arkansas Infantry.
Company I — 9th Arkansas Infantry.
Company K — 25th Arkansas Infantry.

The 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles surrendered with the Army of Tennessee at Greensboro, North Carolina, April 26, 1865. The regiment was paroled on May 1, 1865, at Jamestown, North Carolina.[18] After the surrender, the men were offered free rail transportation (where available) in the direction of their homes, by what was left of the Southern railway companies. Most of the men traveled by rail, where they could. A large number of men were killed or seriously injured in a railroad accident at Flat Creek Bridge, Tennessee, on May 25, 1865.[16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Sikakis, Stewart, Compendium of the Confederate Armies, Florida and Arkansas, Facts on File, Inc., 1992, ISBN 978-0-8160-2288-5, page 88
  2. 1 2 Cleburne's Pickett's Mill Battle Report, O.R.– SERIES 1–VOLUME XXXVIII/3, May I-September 8, 1864. – THE ATLANTA (GEORGIA) CAMPAIGN, No. 608.–Report of Maj. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne, C. S. Army, commanding division, of operations May 7–27, republished at Pickett's Mill Battlefield Historic Site, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Accessed 15 February 2012, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  3. ↑ Col. John M. Harrell, "Confederate Military History, a library of Confederate States", Military History: Volume 10.2, Arkansas Clement Anselm Evans, Ed., Page 304, Accessed 21 July 2011, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2001.05.0254%3Achapter%3D11%3Apage%3D304
  4. 1 2 3 4 National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, Confederate Arkansas Troops, 9th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry, Accessed 27 January 2011, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2001-07-14. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  5. ↑ Howerton, Bryan, "9th Regiment Arkansas Infantry", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 15 July 2011, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-08-30. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  6. ↑ Howerton, Bryan, "Company Names", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted, Monday, 13 September 2004, at 1:25 p.m., Accessed 21 July 2011, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Arkansas Military Department Records, List of Commissioned Officers in State Militia 1827–1862, Microfilm Roll 00000038-8, Page 140
  8. ↑ WOODARD, BEVERLY J., "CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS, 9TH ARKANSAS COMPANY "E","F"and"G"", the USGenWebb Project, Accessed 15 July 2011, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arbradle/military/civil_war-9th.html
  9. ↑ Ezell, Tom, "Re: Van Dorn- Army of the Southwest", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 17 December 2001, Accessed 11 June 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=545%5B%5D
  10. ↑ Harrell, Col. John M. "Confederate Military History, a library of Confederate States", Military History: Volume 10.2, Arkansas Clement Anselm Evans, Ed., Page 306, Accessed 21 July 2011, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2001.05.0254%3Achapter%3D11%3Apage%3D306,
  11. ↑ United States. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 10, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports., book, 1884; Washington D.C.. (texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154613/m1/629/?q=Shiloh,%20Arkansas,%20Bowen,: accessed June 16, 2016), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
  12. 1 2 Korn, Jerry, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. War on the Mississippi: Grant's Vicksburg Campaign. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1985. ISBN 0-8094-4744-4, Page 156.
  13. ↑ Gue, Benjamin F. History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/4 Vol. 4. Iowa Biography, 1903, p. 164.
  14. ↑ United States. War Dept. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 32, In Three Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1891; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152618/m1/352/?q=arkansas : accessed June 26, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas.
  15. ↑ Sikakis, Stewart, Compendium of the Confederate Armies, Florida and Arkansas, Facts on File, Inc., 1992, ISBN 978-0-8160-2288-5, page 118.
  16. 1 2 Howerton, Bryan R. "Re: 25 Infantry Company C", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 20 March 2005, Accessed 8 February 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=9849%5B%5D
  17. ↑ Dedmondt, Glenn "The Flags Of Civil War Arkansas", (Pelican Publishing Co., 2009). ISBN 978-1-58980-190-5. Page 53.
  18. 1 2 Bryan Howerton, "1st Consolidated Mounted Rifles", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted, 5 January 2009, 8:58 am" Accessed 6 August 2011, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=19347

Bibliography

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